"Sleepy Inuit Village" button ring

I'm fascinated by igloos. It's crazy to think about how early Inuits were able to live and flourish in the harshest of conditions.

There's a dreamy documentary from the 1920's (the first feature-length documentary ever) called Nanook Of The North that follows the lives of a family in the Arctic. Here's a little clip of Nanook building an igloo for his family in under an hour. Complete with a window made of ice and snow to reflect the warm sunlight inside.

And that's the inspiration for my latest creations...

One button...

CRW_2439

Two button...

CRW_2435

Delectable clothing buttons repurposed into...

"Sleepy Inuit Village" button rings

A miniature Inuit village sits atop the frozen lake of turquoise flecked with gold. Two stacked buttons create the scene of chilly igloos set on a pearlescent stage. Their three-dimensional character and subtle variations are the perfect splash of color for a cold winter's day. Each ring is completed with an antique brass-plated band.

CRW_1897

The finer details...

The ring's face is made of 2 plastic buttons made in Italy. The top is a transparent light green, speckled with gold. The bottom button is aquamarine, faceted, and 7/8" in diameter with pearlish speckles. The band is a very strong, adjustable antique brass-plated, 4mm in width.

CRW_1906

I have been creating button rings for the past year and this one will finally be listed in my Etsy shop available for purchase. Head on over to purchase your very own.

CRW_1928

Each ring is shipped in an itty bitty box, ready to give as a gift. Special attention is given to the packaging to make it special for you or your recipient. It's a lovely gift to give a friend, family member, or co-worker.

Month of July video

Woosh! And just like that, there goes the month of July. In this month's documentation snippets include— continued visit in Nebraska, traveling back to Oregon, a few trips to Sauvie Island, my first experience at a motocross event, Ecola State Park/Indian Beach (I can't get enough of that big blue ocean), and lastly Skyping with a good friend.

(See a larger version of the video here.)

Month of June

My video for the month of June is complete! Woo-hoo! To fill in those that are unfamiliar, I'm documenting what I encounter each month. I've had this urge ever since I've moved to the west coast. Some of June's snippets include— downtown, work, the Burnside bridge, Indian Beach, Multanomah Falls, friends, Powell's Bookstore, the Max, and a trip to Nebraska.

(See a larger version of the video here.)

Where have I been

Why yes, I am still quite alive. I apologize for my absence, but these last few weeks of May have been busy for me... for sure. And... the weather here has been GORGEOUS, so it has been challenging for me to stay indoors and give attention to my blog and my art. I promise this coming week that I will be better about these two items. So for quite some time now, well, since I moved to the west coast, I've had this urge to do some film documentation of what I encounter. My plan is finally getting played out, someone has inspired me to kick it in gear. So the plan is (hopefully I can keep it up) to film five to 10 second snippets during the month and then make it into a two to five minute film at the end. So here we begin with the month of May...